NYLON - September 2008 - (Page 180) TELEVISION ULES TION JANUARY JONES MAD MEN, AMC RETURNING SHOW “I think everyone involved in the show thought it was something very special,” says January Jones, who plays Betty Draper, the put-upon wife of Don in last year’s sleeper hit Mad Men. “Of all the scripts I was reading at the time, both for movies and TV, it was the best. It was the smartest. It was different.” The pilot of Mad Men was actually passed on by more than one major network before AMC finally picked it up, which is odd: It is, after all, one of the best shows of recent years. And, once it was on, not many people watched it: AMC is hardly a go-to station for quality TV programming. “A lot of people say they come to it by iTunes,” says Jones. “And a lot of people got turned on to it after the season was already over and AMC was just re-running it. No one goes to AMC for TV,” she continues. “It’s their first scripted series and it’s good that they’re taking risks.” “It’s very creatively satisfying,” says Jones of her role, which is a far cry from some of the movies she’s done (American Wedding, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights). Set in the ’50s, the show revolves around a group of egomaniacal advertising executives in a Manhattan firm who have as their fulcrum Don Draper, played with a rare talent by Jon Hamm, who looks set to become a major star on the back of his performance. “He’s got a real movie star quality about him,” says Jones. “He’s a very charming, good-looking man.” LUKE CRISELL PHOTOGRAPHED BY SHAWN MORTENSEN stylist: kathy watson. hair: campbell mccauley at soloartists.com/ctonics. makeup: rachel goodwin for chanel at themagnetagency.com. shot on location at the mondrian hotel, los angeles. shirt by acne, jeans by j brand, necklace by ippolita 18k. 180 http://www.soloartists.com http://www.themagnetagency.com
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